Source: iMore

When it comes to getting started down the path to healthy living, we can sometimes forget that getting fit is about more than just working out our bodies. We also need to balance our mental state, get the right amount of sleep, and eat healthily. If you're ready to change your lifestyle, not just your workout routine completely, check out these great health and fitness apps.

Breathing

3 Minute Mindfulness

3 Minute MindfulnessSource: iMore

When Apple updated watchOS to include the Breath app, we all discovered just how important it is to take a moment to relax and breath. 3 Minute Mindfulness does more than just help you stop and breath. It helps relieve stress and anxiety, focuses on the now, and improve sleep. There are different breathing exercises for different occasions and even weekly programs to help build good habits. And, you don't need an Apple Watch to participate.

3 Minute Mindfulness

Relax and take a few minutes to yourself. This app will help you break from the world relieving stress, anxiety, and give you that extra boost to power through the day.

Exercise

Fitbit

FitbitSource: iMore

Fitbit is one of the most popular step trackers on the market, and the companion app doesn't even require a physical tracker. You can use your iPhone accelerometer and GPS information in conjunction with the Fitbit app to track your steps, distance, calories burned, and more. You can also keep track of your sleep habits, heart rate, and weight with compatible peripherals. You can share your daily workouts with friends and see where you stand in the Fitbit Challenge leaderboards. Creating fitness goals makes it easier to see where you are headed and whether you need to do more to meet your goals. Fitbit is the fitness app that I wish Apple's Activity app could be more like.

Fitbit App

Keep track of your fitness goals with these easy, free app to go along with your Fitbit. Track how far you go, keep an eye on your sleep stats, and sprint ahead on those Challenge leaderboards. New year, new you.

Diet

Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker by MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPalSource: iMore

MyFitnessPal does a lot to help you lose weight, but where it really shines is in calorie tracking. You can input any food item you have ever put in your mouth and track how many calories you've ingested. You can even create meals based on individual food items you eat regularly for faster data entry. If an item doesn't already exist in the vast database, you can create your own and include all of the nutritional value that you know about. It also connects with dozens of peripherals and apps, including Apple's Health app, to track your activities, showing you just how many more calories you'll need to burn today if you want to shed those pounds.

MyFitness Pal App

A quick and easy way to track your calories, ratios, and macros, MyFitnessPal is a great way to stay on top of your resolution. Track your meals, get fun recipes, and pair it with other devices like your Apple Health App or your Fitbit to reach your goals.

Sleep

myNoise

myNoiseSource: iMore

One of the best ways to help encourage a healthy sleep cycle is to quiet your brain with white noise. myNoise is a fully customizable sound generator that has hundreds of multi-track noise programs from nature to sci-fi and everything in-between. I like to take naps to the sound of a nice spring walk and fall asleep at night to the sound of the Enterprise's soothing hum. Each sound features 10 tracks, each hosting a different part of the generated sound. So, if you love the low rumble of the Star Trek ship, but can't sleep when you hear the bleeps and blips, you can turn those sounds down and get to sleep faster without interruption.

myNoise App

Resolve to get some more sleep, the best resolution ever. myNoise will help you get the rest you need with soothing white noise and a variety of tracks. From nature to the Enterprise deck, tune out the world for a spell.

Brain training

Elevate

Elevate Brain TrainingSource: iMore

The brain needs exercise, too. When your mind is strong and focused, it helps keep you on track to getting the rest of your body fit, too. Elevate has special sessions to help increase your skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math. When you do the daily exercises, it increases the speed and accuracy at which your brain performs. Even if your body is in tip-top shape, your mind still needs some daily exercises, too.

Elevate App

Train your brain with fun, daily puzzles, and exercise your mind with the Elevate app. Improve your reading, writing, speaking, listening, and math skills and keep that noggin active and focused.

Heart rate tracking

Cardiogram

CardiogramSource: iMore

Cardiogram is great for making sense of the heart rate data that your Apple Watch measures. It shows a detailed graph of your heart rate history, average beats, and works with heart peripherals to add even more helpful information. When your heart rate spikes, you can tag it with whatever you were doing at the moment, so you know when you should de-stress, or when you were just exercising.

Cardiogram App

Monitor your ticker and make this year a focus for your health. Pair with your Apple Watch and keep track of your heart rate, beats, and peripherals to keep things humming.

Your favorites?

What health and fitness apps do you use to get a jump on your New Year's resolutions? Let us know what they are and why you love them.

Updated January 2020: Updated with all the best apps to help you reach this year's fitness goals!

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